Chapter 906: Too High Production Capacity Also Brings Troubles

Originally, Chang Haonan had reserved two and a half months for the entire trial production process.

That is to say, it can be completed before the beginning of September, or at least the process parameters can be basically determined.

As for the reason...

very obvious.

If there are no major changes to the timeline, starting from September, the remaining months of this year will be full of big news.

In his previous life, in 2001, he was still struggling to study for a doctorate. Regarding the drastic change that in hindsight can be called a turning point in history, the channels for understanding it were limited to a few words in newspapers and TV.

And since we had just experienced a plane collision in the first half of the year, my reaction at that time was very simple——

"You damn deserve it."

Of course, Chang Haonan really couldn't do anything else at that time, so he could only vent in his heart like this.

But in any case, this did objectively lead to his lack of understanding of what happened throughout the fourth quarter of 2001, making it difficult to plan in advance as he did during the Allied operations.

We can only take one step at a time.

Therefore, although Chang Haonan will most likely not be able to directly participate in the decision-making this time, by that time, he will definitely have to devote extra energy to paying attention to the development of the situation.

However, it turned out that he was overly concerned.

The trial production process progressed far faster than he expected——

This is not entirely because of how efficient the two teams are, but because Chang Haonan's initial thinking was a bit off the mark.

His two and a half months were the time set aside to find "optimal processing conditions."

But in fact, the air film hole of the turbofan 10 can be made by traditional electric spark technology and the hand work of a skilled craftsman, and it does not need to be so extreme.

At least not for Liming Factory.

So only one month later, starting from the beginning of August, trial production has begun to produce products that meet the process requirements.

Although at the beginning, the yield rate was still at a relatively low level.

But no matter what, it is much better than the EDM situation where the listener is sad and the listener sheds tears.

Therefore, by mid-August, Zhong Shihong directly led a team back to Liming Factory and brought a month's supply of semi-finished turbine blades and turbine disks.

That's right, he plans to use this engineering prototype directly to process the air film holes of the mass-produced turbofan 10——

We have to try it anyway, so why not make good use of the production capacity here.

Unsurprisingly, production numbers of prototypes quickly exceeded those of production models...

According to Chang Haonan's calculations, under ideal circumstances, taking into account the improvement of production efficiency and yield rate, the ultra-short laser process can be an order of magnitude more efficient in drilling holes than the past EDM process.

Of course, this does not mean that the production capacity of Turbofan 10 can be directly increased by 10 times.

After all, if the drilling efficiency is improved, there will be other speed-determining steps.

For example, the finishing of high-pressure compressor blades, the coating speed of heat-resistant coatings, etc.

In these links, Liming Factory has actually used international mainstream, or technologies equivalent to international mainstream.

What restricts the improvement of production capacity is the proficiency of workers.

And more importantly, the order volume——

Although China's GDP has advanced four years compared to the previous period, surpassing Italy and France in the second quarter of 2001 and ranking fifth in the world, and is only one step away from the fourth-placed UK, overall, it still belongs to a relatively backward developing country.

Money is needed everywhere.

Moreover, we must also consider that we should not overly stimulate neighboring countries and major competitors.

Therefore, this year, that is, 2001, the budget allocated for national defense construction is 220 billion yuan.

Equivalent to approximately US$26 billion.

It is about 1/12 of the United States.

This is the result of growth of at least 15% every year since 1997, and a maximum growth of 20% a year.

Therefore, despite the fact that when 20 turbofans were built every year, both the Air Force and the aviation industry complained that there were not enough.

If we can produce 200 units every year in the future, then they won’t be able to eat anymore...

…

"Mr. Chang."

Looking at the test report with increasingly better data, Zhong Shihong looked slightly melancholy:

“Can’t we really let Factory 112 and Factory 132 increase their production capacity?”

After the production capacity potential gradually increased, he even became much tougher than before.

When facing colleagues from the Aviation Industry Group next door, my attitude changed from "please be gentle" to "have you not eaten?"

Ahem...

In short, the production capacity potential of turbofan 10 is now very obvious, so Zhong Shihong’s concerns have gradually shifted from pure technology to business.

It is really uncomfortable to have orders for only fifty or sixty units despite having the ability to produce hundreds or dozens of units a year.

"It's difficult...the three services plus the second artillery force are under great pressure to change equipment. The resources that can be specifically allocated to the fighter aviation force are already limited."

Chang Haonan put down the pen in his hand and shook his head:

"Including the J-11B and J-10A, it can produce about 30 aircraft per year, which is already partially exceeded my expectations. On the one hand, the J-10E has no customers for the time being, and on the other hand, it is adapted to the power of the AL31F."

"And to take a step back, even if there are so many orders, the 112 and 132 factories themselves have not completed the expansion. Especially the 132 factory has planned a brand new factory area. At the moment, even if it is running continuously, it will not be able to produce much production capacity... …”

Just 200 engines a year, even excluding engine replacement and spare parts, can translate into a production of about 100 new fighter jets.

This number could not be reached every year even before Chang Haonan was reborn, let alone now.

"The main reason is that our current production potential is too great."

Zhong Shihong touched his chin:

"The troubles of happiness..."

Chang Haonan was originally going to change the topic, but when he heard what the other party said, he suddenly had an idea.

The production capacity of the turbojet 14 is actually not low.

The reason why we have never encountered this problem is that the Persian F4 upgrade project takes up hundreds of units of production capacity at a time.

Of course, in the international market, there is currently no model that requires a high-thrust engine like the Turbofan 10.

After all, the United States and Russia both have their own power models and do not need to import them from China.

But if you open your mind...

What if the complete engine is not exported?

The current production capacity potential of Liming Plant is actually mainly accumulated in the turbine disk and turbine blades.

This is a problem unique to the world.

You know, the turbine structure is one of the most precious parts of the entire aircraft engine.

The situation of the vast majority of aviation manufacturers is similar to that of the previous dawn, with total output being dragged down by turbine components.

Just not that exaggerated.

Therefore, there is definitely a market for exporting turbine blades individually...

However, one thing is needed now to make the world realize China's capabilities in this regard.

Thinking of this, he put down the pen he had just picked up, and then picked up the phone receiver.

But after thinking about it for a while, I let it go again.

Even internal calls are not absolutely foolproof.

Therefore, according to regulations, some truly core things need to be communicated in person.

"Old clock."

Chang Haonan looked at Zhong Shihong, who was already lowering his head to sort out the report not far away:

"The next time you return to Shengjing, remember to go to the 606 Institute to find Comrade Liu Yongquan."

Zhong Shihong has to go back to Liming Factory every half month to report on his work, so he is more suitable to handle this matter than Chang Haonan, who is based in the capital.

"Mr. Liu?"

Zhong Shihong stopped what he was doing and looked back at Chang Haonan:

"But I remember... he should have been transferred to guide the Snecma Group to improve the M88 engine?"

"Yes, that's why I asked you to find him."

Chang Haonan nodded:

"Tell Comrade Yongquan that when you revise the M88 engine design next time, you can consider modifying the cooling film holes on the turbine structure and changing the current two-dimensional forward tilt hole into a three-dimensional dustpan-shaped hole."

"Before you leave, I will prepare a technical document, and you can just hand it to him along with it."

"Three-dimensional structure..."

Zhong Shihong's initially dazed expression gradually became enlightened:

"The same design as the Turbofan 10?"

"That's right."

Chang Haonan showed a meaningful smile:

"The structure of the film cooling holes on the turbine is different from the inner wall of the combustion chamber, and is relatively independent of the design of the engine itself. Therefore, after different types of engines are replaced with the same film holes, the cooling efficiency will not change much."

"It just so happens that the French want to further improve the performance of the M88, so let's help them by the way..."

Regardless of the hole shape, the processing difficulty of two-dimensional holes is much lower than that of three-dimensional holes.

Moreover, the Western military currently generally uses electrochemical machining for hole making, and its process parameters are relatively complex. When relying mainly on experience, the process development cycle is measured in years at the fastest.

Therefore, if the M88 really changes the air film hole structure, then Snecma will not be able to achieve mass production in a short time.

But if the Rafale fighter jet wants to compete with the EF2000, the upgrade progress cannot be delayed.

Orders will naturally flow to Liming Factory...

Moreover, the French will not suffer.

The cost of ultra-short laser processing is no higher than that of electrochemical processing. Combined with the actual situation in China, even if enough profit margins are left, the final product in Snecma's hands may still be more expensive than what they make themselves. Cheap.

A win-win, a win-win!